#febirdary 2018

[frillbackstudios]

Febirdary day 10! Round. Fluffy pigeon!

[namu-the-orca]

Febirdary #11 Sleek

Guillemots are on my list of ‘birds I really, really like, despite having zero personal experience with’. It is a long list. So long that it would be folly to speak of ‘favourites’. It is hard to choose from 10000 species, each more wonderful than the last. 

Still, guillemots. I suppose in part it’s their name, so unexpectedly exotic - only fitting for such a beautiful bird. Although some of you may know them better as ‘murres’. They are auks, family of razorbills and puffins. Like them, they have stocky bodies and wings that seem entirely too small to keep them in the air. However, they have an undeniably dapper appearance, standing tall on the sea cliffs as they rest on their hocks. They’re like the arctic’s very own penguins. And their heads, with brownish black feathers like velvet and long thin bills, are undeniably elegant. Some northern birds have white spectacles around their eyes; the further north, the more you’ll find. To me they are even more beautiful than their black-headed counterparts.

[d0eteeth]

Febirdary Day 1: First

off to a slow start. I’m bad at abstract prompts so I just drew the first bird that was in my bird calendar for this year   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[heir-of-angels]

Feb. 3rd - Cardinal

[birbzfordayz]

Febirdary Day 4 Henry in black and white; Henry in pencil and ink.

[theazurekings]

Day 9 : Old Currently the oldest bird in the wild is Wisdom; a laysan albatross, who was 67 years old as of 2017! Albatross as well as large parrots/cockatoos can live as long as humans- hitting 100 years if well cared for

[namu-the-orca]

Febirdary #6 Awkward

Oops, we’ve got some catching up to do for Febirdary. The backlogged drawings will be uploaded later today in queue! But now for today’s drawing - I don’t think much within the order of the birds can match a baby (pheasant-tailed) jacana for awkwardness. Though born at a fraction the size of adults, their legs are almost at adult width already, and their toes only do little growing. 

Which makes for poofy chicks with some honkin’ big feet.

[namu-the-orca]

Febirdary #9 Old

Magpie geese sit at the other end of the ‘evolutionary age‘ spectrum, and are considered living fossils. Again, a strange nomer that doesn’t quite hold up to scientific scrutiny and logic, but does a perfectly good job of intuitively describing what is meant: an existing species that resembles creatures otherwise known only from the fossil record. Their superficial resemblance to geese confirms their place amongst the waterfowl, but they are not true geese. They represent a monotypic family that split off a long time ago, after the screamers, but before all other ducks, geese, and swans. Members of the family already existed in similar form some 66 million years ago.

Their ancient origins show, even today. There is something oddly reptilian about their bare triangular face. Their neck is just a tad too long and thin for what my idea of a goose is comfortable with, and seeing a flock strolling across a field, heads held high, reminds me a bit too much of some paleo artwork come to life. They are wondrous birds for sure.